Rear-Admiral John Hayes CB (1767[1] or 1775[2] – 7 April 1838) was a prominent British Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Hayes was best known for his skill at seamanship and his interest in the design and construction of naval vessels, beginning with his childhood education at Deptford Dockyard where his uncle Adam was a master shipbuilder.

During his naval service he participated in the first and the last significant frigate actions of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, from the inconclusive engagement between Embuscade and HMS Boston in 1793 and the capture of USS President in 1815.

For the next seven years he remained in reserve, before taking command of the ship of the line HMS Alfred in 1809, assisting in the evacuation of troops from Galicia, Spain following the Battle of Corunna.

Although the razees did not meet any American frigates directly, Majestic did encounter the Terpsichore at the action of 2 February 1814, and defeated her in a lengthy engagement, the French ship sinking soon afterwards.

After the end of the war, Hayes was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and in 1819 was appointed superintendent of HMNB Devonport, remaining at the post for some years and taking an active role in the design and development of new ships, publishing a number of well received pamphlets on the subject.